Starting up again. How does Bard compare with Chanter

[Maevyse]

<p>Hello all,</p><p>I know this is a loaded question but I plan to roll one of these classes. I had previously had a Coercer to lvl 40 or so a few years back. Some people had mentioned to be back then that mez wasn't nearly as good as it was in EQ1. I was wondering how these two classes are doing today?</p><p>My Chanter never had Master? rank charm so I always felt charming was somewhat garbage as it never seemed to live up to EQ1's charm, IMO. I want to know if charm got any better or if its awesome at master rank compared to what I "assume" a bard would have in regards to their wider utility. I prefer to play a support class.</p><p>--Bard jack of all trades Vs. Chanter's Charm (fun factor) Or maybe just why you'd roll one vs the other?</p>

[Nrgy]

<p><cite>Maevyse wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Hello all,</p><p>I know this is a loaded question but I plan to roll one of these classes. I had previously had a Coercer to lvl 40 or so a few years back. Some people had mentioned to be back then that mez wasn't nearly as good as it was in EQ1. I was wondering how these two classes are doing today?</p><p>My Chanter never had Master? rank charm so I always felt charming was somewhat garbage as it never seemed to live up to EQ1's charm, IMO. I want to know if charm got any better or if its awesome at master rank compared to what I "assume" a bard would have in regards to their wider utility. I prefer to play a support class.</p><p>--Bard jack of all trades Vs. Chanter's Charm (fun factor) Or maybe just why you'd roll one vs the other?</p></blockquote><p>Bards and Chanters have a few things in common, the least of which is they are both in high demand, both desired in Raids and both interchangable in groupd.  All classes solo just fine, some have an easier time due to higher DPS or Surviviablity.</p><p>Dirge buffs focus more on Melee classes where Troubadours benifit casters more, but both can buff all classes to some extent.  Chanters have better Hate Transfer and Power Regen and tend to favor casters, but Illusionists may favor melee more then Coercers.  Due to the Mythical buff from the Dirge Epic (ER) they can become one of the highest DPS classes.</p><p>Coercers have Charm ... other classes can charm to some degree, but only for very short periods.  A master level charm spell rarely ever breaks early and at max level lasts for 35 minutes.  Charmed caster mobs falls under the new shared stat pet rules and makes them very powerful.</p><p>Mezz in post-DOV has limited use and now that many players have geared up past the DOV entry level gear reset, Mezz is use even less.  However, Mezz still can be part of the strategy and can help lower DPS/Surviviability groups run smoother.</p><p>There could be a debat on the level of utility each brings to a group over another, but most 5 man groups are happy to have any of the four.  Raids tend to use Dirges for MT groups and Trouby's for Mage groups.  Chanters boil down to Hate transfer buffs vs DPS buffs determining which group they are put into on the raids.  I alway though, in raid situations, where you have an unlimited pool of classes that 1 Dirge, 3 Trouby's, 1 Illy, 3 Coercers ... but I concede to more experienced raiders on this.</p><p>Personally, I have a mid-geared lv 90 Coercer and i love it.</p>

[Maevyse]

<p>Thanks for the reply Nrgy,</p><p>I'm a sucker for non specific mob type charm and seems that with this "new shared stat pet rules" They will be just want I want.</p><p>Sad to see that Mezz is sitting on the side of the highway though. I found the streaming client so I'm going to make a chanter right now.</p><p>-Thanks <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" /></p>